Rachel was born May 6, 1930, in Manchester, N.H., daughter of the late Denis and Louisia (Bouffard) Poirier. She was a communicant of the Shrine of St. Anne. Rachel enjoyed sewing, bingo and traveling to the casinos.

Besides her husband, Andrew of 62 years, she will be missed by her children, Robert Hamel and his wife, Marsha, of Howard, Colo., Leo Hamel and his wife, Tamara, of Prescott Valley, Ariz., Diane Hamel and her partner, Heidi Eccelston, of North Clarendon, Vt., Cindy Schulte and her husband, Eddie, of Stamford, and Roger Hamel of Watertown; her sister, Irene Ponte of Waterbury; 11 grandchildren, one great-granddaughter and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother, Albert, and sisters, Lucille, Claire and Simonne, and her brother-in-law, Americo "Mickey" Ponte.

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